As we near the end of another year, many of us begin to think about our resolutions and goals for the New Year. We decide that we will eat healthier, exercise more, spend less money, etc. However, it’s important to realize that New Year’s resolutions do not have to be only for personal goals. You can also set resolutions for your recruiting goals.

There are several things that you can consider improving on in the New Year:

Get Organized

Being a recruiter can be quite chaotic at times. When your phone is ringing off the hook, you have a long list of openings to fill, and you still need to find the perfect candidate, it is so easy to let organization slide. I understand – I’ve been there. When you’ve had a long hard day on the phone, interviewing candidates and speaking with hiring managers, the last thing you want to do is to have to organize your desk before you call it quits for the day.

However, organization is key to running a successful recruiting desk. Quite often, there is no time to scramble around at the last minute, looking for a resume or contact information for a scheduled client call, or notes that are needed in order to quickly present that perfect candidate to a picky hiring manager.

In 2015, make it a goal to spend your last 30 minutes of each day organizing your desk and planning for the next day. Trust me; it will help you work faster in the long run.

Tracking Numbers

Recruiting is sales. No ifs, ands or buts.

With that said, in recruiting we all have numbers we should be holding ourselves accountable to. As a recruiter, you should always know what your ratios are.

How many candidate submissions do you have to send forward before there is a hire? If you cannot answer this question, you are not doing yourself any favors.

In 2015, keep track of your numbers. You can track only your submission to hire rate, or you could take it deeper than that and track even more activity. For example, I used to track my calls out to see how many calls I had to make before I found an interested candidate who was a fit. You can also track your retention rate to find out how many of your placements stay on and work out versus ones who do not work out.

Numbers are key in recruiting. If you are tracking your numbers at all times and know exactly what you need to do in order to succeed, you will have a successful year.

Proactive Recruiting

If you spent most of 2014 feeling like a little hamster running on a wheel and not getting anywhere, that is probably because you were reactive.

Take a look at your recruiting strategy and how you can modify it in order to stay ahead of the game in 2015. Maybe you can set aside time each week to do some proactive recruiting for standard openings you normally receive, whether you have the immediate openings or not. You will be so glad that you have done this when you are slammed with numerous job orders at once. Having a steady candidate pipeline in preparation for openings is a life saver.

What resolutions will you make for 2015 in order to improve your recruiting business? Share your resolutions below in the comments.